Brother, My Brother
by GreenLavender
Summary: Death dearly loves his eternal Master and grants him with what he has wanted most in the world: a family, but most importantly, a brother. / May contain incest at some point. Slash. Current Character(s): Tom Marvolo Riddle Jr./Lord Voldemort
Part [arc/story] One of the 'Brother, My Brother' series, in which Harry Potter is the Master of Death and uses his powers to grant both himself and others happiness.

Chapter one of three in 'Answer My Riddle'.

The words of phrases with [*] mean that they are explained at the end.

Constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form. This Alternative Universe is the only thing I have created and own.

* * *

 **Answer My Riddle [1]**

"... Welcome the man. He has been extraordinarily generous considering what he has given to us in this time of war. Adopting one of _you_ is even more honorable..."

 _Yes, adopt one and use all that money for your filthy old self._

Tom Marvolo Riddle was most definitely the oddest child of Wool's Orphanage in London, England. While he was wondrously intelligent, so much so that he quickly got bored with Mrs. Cole's lessons for children far above his age, he was also extremely cynical. Even for a six year old, he was hungry for knowledge and none would come from _this_ place; that he knew. Nonetheless, with his self-preservation in mind and heart, he stood in line and couldn't help but hope that the charitable man would take and keep him.

Oh, Tom was adopted twice or thrice before, although he couldn't care to remember. There was lovely Mrs. Abramson, a widow from Essex, who turned out to be not so lovely when the _thing_ decided to change of her white carnations into striped ones of the same breed. The other one or two guardians he couldn't remember much, all he really knew was that he was a quiet and nice baby until the _thing_ acted up. The _thing_ often got him in trouble (or out, depending on the situation), and even if this man happened to be interested in the I-look-smart-but-I'm-actually-devious boy, Tom knew he would be sent back. And yes, it hurt, but what was he going to do? Throw a tantrum and allow Billy Stubbs and Eric Whalley another excuse to beat him up? Not a chance.

A seemingly middle aged man, who introduced himself as Ignotus Peverell with a hint of amusement in his dark, soulless eyes came through the heavy doors with a younger man in tow. He shook hands with Mrs. Cole, the viridescent eyes dancing in satisfaction. He introduced himself as Hadrian Peverell, and that they had come from Surrey. Then the younger man, not the father, pretended to look over the children. _Pretends,_ Tom noted, _because he has all ready chosen one._

But Tom is enchanted when the young man kneels where he is standing and asks for his name.

"Tom... Tom Marvolo Riddle," He introduces himself, clutching his year old diary to his chest.

The man smiles.

"I'm Harry."

"Just Harry?" He asks, albeit indignantly.

His smile blows into a full ear to ear grin.

"Just Harry."

* * *

Tom decides he much like Just Harry. Although Tom chose to call him Hadrian, he thought Just Harry suited him better. After Ignotus Peverell left with the ominous words of, _"Death will always be among you, Hadrian,"_ the young man whisked him off, literally _whisked_ , to a large house, _no,_ a mansion, _no_ , a manor that could have been as old as life. When Tom expressed the sentiment in a husky, awe-struck voice, Hadrian chuckled, messing up his hair and softly stated, "It's not as though Life is all that old..."

Then they went on a tour of Peverell Manor, from the lush gardens behind the gates to the marble mansion. Hadrian brought him up to the Family Wing ( _Family..._ ) and told him the only room he couldn't choose was the one next to a mosaic of a weird, thin stick that had circular shapes in between every inch or so, like a kebab. Below that one was another mosaic of a gemstone, angular and diamond like in its shape but obsidian in color. And lastly, at the bottom was... _a cloak?_ The shape made it rather difficult to tell but Tom was sure it was a cape of some sort. Tom decided to take the room on the other side of the mosaic, but not before questioning, "But what of your Father?"

Hadrian only chuckled and ruffled his hair for the second time that day before responding, "I'm the master of this household, Tom."

"But... Your Father?"

"He is but an old friend."

* * *

The first time Tom saw Hadrian doing his _thing_ was quite possibly the best day of his life.

Well, no, but it was pretty close.

Hadrian was cooking, or rather, he was placing a mix of something into the oven while his _thing_ was mixing in another bowl. The spoons seemed to be beating by themselves, but Tom knew better.

"You can do the _thing_ too?!"

Hadrian, with that weird, lopsided smile of his replied, "It's magic, Tom."

"Magic," Tom whispered to himself, steel eyes glistening with wonder, "And I... I can do it too?"

"Of course, but first, you need the magic of cookies and milk. Or tea, since it's tea time. We can go to the indoor patio and have it there, it's surprisingly good weather for the autumn. Pinny!"

A sudden pop made Tom jump and his heart racing.

"After these are done baking, please grab the milk and chamomile tea and bring it to the white indoor patio."

"Yes, Pinny is be doing the serving! Yes, Pinny does!"

"Great! We'll see you there."

"And just _what_ was that?"

"A house elf, I had to kick them out of the kitchen just to bake the cookies, helpful creatures but quite persistent."

Although Tom didn't question magic and house elves until they got to the 'White Patio', he couldn't help but question Hadrian's sanity.

...Especially after being taught that yes, magic is indeed real and yes, Tom is a wizard, and no, they are not in Surrey because there are no manors this big there, and yes, they are in the Wizarding World at the moment, although even Hadrian couldn't pinpoint the exact place, rather just shrugged and said, "I know we're in England - maybe the Isle of Man, but honestly? The wizarding map is kind of confusing and I never had it in myself to learn it."

And thus proceeded Tom's glorious magic lessons.

He couldn't do practicals yet, since he didn't have a wand but Hadrian insisted that he try the 11 inch, holly wood and phoenix feather wand for some reason, and it sparked a magnificently warm feeling, with green mist sprouting all around him. So focused on the power around him, _the power that was him,_ he didn't notice Hadrian's small smile of mirth.*

He did learn the theories, though, and was both amazed and amazing at the spell works. Hadrian taught him potions as well, and although he expressed that he was rubbish at potions, Tom thought otherwise.

Hadrian was beautiful, certainly in looks and most definitely in his personality. As years passed by, Tom realized this with eyes far clearer than the first. Hadrian's eyes always lifted with joy, even though they seemed to have a permanently haunting look to them; Hadrian's smiles tilted further one way, and Tom knew that he was sly and cunning; Hadrian's hair was messy in a way that looked like the wind had attempted to blow his compassion away and failed. Everything about Hadrian Ignotus Peverell was absolutely perfect.

So, when the day came and Tom got the letter that Hadrian told him about, he was rather confused. He didn't really want to go to this Hogwarts, he would much rather stay with Hadrian and learn magic in the manor instead. Going to Hogwarts would mean leaving him until the Christmas holidays, only to return to the ancient school and coming back to the manor for the summer. He didn't exactly like the idea of going to a magical school with magical children who had no idea how to control their magic when he already knew the course material from first year to fourth. Of course, Hadrian had left some out because he didn't want Tom to get bored when he went to school, nor did he teach him all of the wand movements. So why was he confused when he already knew he would stay _home_?

Because when Tom had brought these facts to Hadrian, the adoptive brother only smiled and asked, "Tom, / _you understand me, yes?/_ "

 _"/Of course./"_

"Tom, you are the heir of Slytherin, one of the four houses of Hogwarts. I hate to sound biased, but Slytherin is probably the most ancient and noble house of Hogwarts and to be the heir of Slytherin is quite an honor."

"But what does speaking to snakes have to do with that?"

"Because the two of us are the only ones in the world to have this, erm, unique ability."

"But doesn't that make you the heir? And aren't we not related by blood, how could you not have gained custody over me? Did you and _Ignotus_ leave me there? Is that it?! Did you only take me to fulfill my dut-"

"I can't explain to you why I can speak in Parseltongue, which is what witches and wizards call it, without it sounding terrifyingly creepy, but let's just say I got it from a, uh... bond. No, Tom, we aren't related by blood, although we may be distant cousins considering you come from Cadmus's line, but your mother couldn't have known about it. And I couldn't exactly do anything to stop your mother from going there, more so because I had no idea where she went. Your only duties is to have fun but also to act properly. Do you remember that time when I left you in the manor with Ignotus for a couple hours?"

Tom was forced to suppress a shudder in remembrance of that day. Ignotus Mors Peverell was impossibly creepy without trying to be. He was also impossibly horrendous at household tasks. Attempting to revive from the memory of that day that was nearly a month ago, he croaked out a, "Yes."

"It was to visit your... uncle. He is the current head of the Gaunt house, your mother's side of the family, and I may have forced him to make you the heir of the Gaunt house as well."

"But - My - What?"

"Your uncle, Morfin, was - is - unstable, Tom. Mentally, emotionally, and even physically. If he wanted to take custody over you, even if _you_ wanted to go with him, I would have stopped the process from going through. He's not fit for the role of a guardian, nor the head of one of the Sacred Twenty Eight."

"But what does this have to do with me going to school?"

"It means that you are a pure blood heir, despite being a half blood. It means that you are the heir to one of the school's founders, and that the school will listen to you as a sentient being. You have power there, Tom, and even though I hate to encourage this, I know you would want to make a social standing for yourself and I know you want power. Frankly, getting this is easy when you start in a school where you already have power and authority over anyone there. And I know for a fact that the Hufflepuff family is extinct, and the Ravenclaw family is also dead as dust, which leaves the Slytherin house, you, and the Gryffindor house, which would have gone to the Potter's if I hadn't come," He smirked a little at that, as if amused.*

"So you want me to gain support at school?" Tom asked with narrow eyes.

"Hey, don't look at me like that, I know for a fact you would have done it without me telling you to. You don't have to, but I have a feeling that you're going to want, no, need, to do so."

"Then... I have no choice but to go."

* * *

 _TBC..._

 **Harry's Wand and Tom:** In the book and the movie, Harry was given a warm feeling and had some sort of red mist for the effect behind him, respectively. Since Tom's true wand is the 13 inch, yew and phoenix feather, I wanted to show that while the wands are brothers, it is not fully compatible without its true owner; hence the green mist. Also, it is widely known and recognized that neither wands can hurt the other, for they are brothers.

 **Gryffindor Line:** This isn't canon, but this idea is commonly used by the fandom; for the Potters to be from the Gryffindor line. The Hufflepuff line is extinct on the female line and isn't known on the male side, while the Ravenclaw's are completely unknown.

This series will be a lot more laid back than any other, since these consists of one, two, or three shots rather than long chapters composing one story.

I hope you enjoyed, and please review!


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